They are all classified as "low-risk" repeat offenders by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

The "low-risk" appraisals are based on everything from their age (in Manson's case, 78) and conduct behind bars to the number of years since their last arrest.

Luckily, an inmate's risk score isn't the only criterion for parole, says Corrections spokeswoman Terry Thornton. "It only predicts the likelihood of reconviction of a felony upon release," she said.

The terms "low risk" - and "non-serious" - and the public's perception of what the terms mean - have become central to the politics and public relations of prison overcrowding.

Reform advocates aren't satisfied with a 40,000-inmate drop in the state's prison population, and are keeping up the legal pressure on Gov. Jerry Brownto make further reductions.

And "low risk" offenders, who make up 43 percent of the population, are one of the targets of groups that have sued the state to reduce overcrowding.

"It's ridiculous for the plaintiffs to say that ... the state can release some of them with no threat to public safety," Thornton said.

She just might have a point, judging by the news last week out of Vallejo that a former Death Row inmate, convicted more than 45 years ago of murdering two teenage girls but later set free, is back in jail after allegedly killing his 90-year-old mother.

But Emily Harris, statewide coordinator of Californians United for a Responsible Budget, a coalition pushing to curb prison spending, says there are many older inmates who pose little public risk - and that pouring more money into keeping people behind bars will only result in more prisons and more overcrowding.

"The emphasis needs to be on shifting resources away from locking up people to a social safety network" of support services, education and affordable housing that can lead to rehabilitation, Harris said.

Oddly enough, a whopping 77 percent of the 453 "non-serious" offenders put under San Francisco's supervision as part of Brown's prison realignment shift of inmates to the counties were deemed "high risk" upon release, according to the city's Adult Probation Department.

That's because drug abusers and petty criminals are statistically more likely to re-offend than murderers. So the "high-risk" inmates might not pose a big threat to the public when they get out.

"It's quite counterintuitive," said Selena Teji, spokeswoman for the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice in San Francisco, which has been tracking the realignment.

On the other hand, there are also some questions about "non-serious" offenders who are being sent back to the counties.

For one, the label refers only to the person's most recent conviction - which may tell only part of the story.

The 453 "nonserious" offenders sent back to San Francisco, for example, averaged eight felony arrests apiece before committing their "non-serious" offense.

More than half had previous convictions involving violence, weapons or sex crimes.

Bottom line, says Jessica Flintoft, director of the San Francisco Probation Department's Re-entry Program: No matter what label is used to describe the danger they pose, "with the exception of Charles Manson, everyone is coming back to the community."

Super setup: The host committee trying to land a Bay Area Super Bowl has been making the rounds to local governments - and along with the super pitch, it's making some pretty substantial requests.

Among them:

-- A rent break from Santa Clara for use of the new 49ers stadium and parking lots.

-- Free rent for the parties and other events that happen during Super Bowl week.

-- An agreement by Santa Clara and San Francisco to pay for the added police and fire services that will be needed for the week.

The NFL also wants to be exempted from paying taxes on game and event tickets, as well as on parking.

"The league is asking this of every city that is in the running," said Nate Ballard, a spokesman for the committee trying to bring the game to the Bay Area in 2017 or 2018. "Obviously, we want to do the best we can."

Sacramento digs: Freshman San Francisco Assemblyman Phil Tinglanded one of nicest offices - and jobs - up in the Capitol when Speaker John Péreztagged him to chair the Democratic Caucus.

It probably helped that Pérez and Ting have been friends since their days together at UC Berkeley.

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